Monday, May 14, 2012

The dangers of using free WiFi. Stolen passwords, email accounts, or bank details


Free WiFi is really popular these days, Free wifi is popping up in more and more places. This can really make a difference if you are into business, bringing in the customers. We love stores and gas station with free WiFi, but hackers love them too. Why? Because it's easier for them to stole your private informations.

Most free wifi system don't feature any form of encryption. This means your information is not protected at all, and a skilled hacker can easily see your Facebook login user and password or your online banking login information. USA Today says that there are free apps that allows amateurs to copy all the data from your computer once you connected to a free WiFi. This procedure is called "sidejacking".




How to protect yourself

This does not mean you should not use free WiFi. Free internet is great and you should use it. Just be careful on what sites you visit. Try to avoid any password protected sites like Facebook, mail, online banking. If you are reading online newspapers or your favorite blogs you should be just fine. Install a free antivirus or a paid antivirus on your laptop because hackers can hack into your laptop via free WiFi even if you're not using the Internet browser. Even if the website is using secure login (SSL), remember this:  


There is no such thing as a 100% secure website. 

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